Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1100392
www.postmagazine.com 14 POST MAR/APR 2019 FILM RESTORATION part of Belgium. Peter even went out and found some of the locations and photo- graphed the environments so we could see the types of trees there. Plus, we have a massive collection of actual WWI items, from uniforms to weaponry, pretty much everything you can imagine. Peter wanted to make sure we were incredibly accurate with all the colors and details." STEREO, GRADING AND SOUND Once Jackson signed off on the 2D col- orized image from Stereo D, Park Road carried out an extensive color treatment, concentrating on the historical accuracy by referencing actual uniforms and phys- ical artifacts in the grading suite. The col- ored footage was often further enhanced by re-comp'ing light and shade from the restored black-and-white shots. This technique of relighting was the finishing touch that enabled the depth and atmo- sphere to be realized, says Wear. The graded shots were then sent back to Stereo D for stereo conversion. Meanwhile, while Stereo D was working on the colorized imagery, Park Road sim- ilarly restored/retimed/color-graded the black-and-white footage that appears in an earlier segment of the film. Park Road also completed the final color grade and final sound mixing. Professional lip readers watched the foot- age and offered their opinion as to what was being said in the shots. Then, more than 300 hours of previous recordings of WWI vets were scrubbed to locate those plausible words, which included accents that correlated with specific regiments in the clip. In the end, between 250 and 300 actual WWI vets can be heard recounting their experiences in the film. "What most of us see from footage of WWI is black-and-white, old, jerky, silent, heavily degraded film, and it puts you in a mind space that this [event] happened on a different planet and during a different time, with different people. This film reminds us that it didn't happen that long ago, and [it happened] with people like us," says Stables. Adds Jackson, "Restoration is humanizing because it brings out the humanity of the people who were there. This movie brings these people back into our lives again." Karen Moltenbrey is the chief editor of CGW, Post's sister publication. An image before and aer it was restored and colored. WWI imagery that looks as if it could have been shot recently. The restoration project was helmed by director Peter Jackson.